shaun071

Are these available for coupes as well?? Freight here to Australia might be a killer though.

I'm not a fan of white faced gauges either. If you are looking at replacing the entire gauge set Dakota Digital are doing their VHX analogue gauges in metric now, KMH speedo and celsius temp. I'll be getting that set up when my budget allows. http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=791/category_id=671/home_id=-1/mode=prod/prd791.htm

Guillaume69 had this link in his project thread for a KM/H speedo decal http://www.whitegauges.net/products/...ce-Gauges.html If you get your speedo reading correctly in MPH you could just use the decal. Something I've also looked at is using a KM/H speedo face out of an Aussie Falcon from the 70's. Perhaps in Europe you could look for a speedo face from a MK2 or MK3 Cortina? Ford seems to use generic parts across many models sold in different markets.

If it's a relatively mild engine I'd be inclined to go with a 600cfm square bore vacuum secondary Holley. I've had great results from these on mild 351C's in the past. It will lose out to the 750 at the top end, but for cruising it should work well. You can't really undercarb a car, as you've experienced with your 500cfm, but if you go too big it can turn it into a pig to drive.

:thumbup1::thumbup1:Nice to see another coupe in the build!

Seat belt saga part 2, Front belt installation. The factory belt mounts are in the wrong spot for an inertia reel- the sill point is too far forward and the roof point is 3/8 unc and too far back. After some more trolling of Aussie Mustang forums and checking with Gasoline Alley Restorations in Brisbane for advise, I bought some of their belt/child restraint mounts and got to work. I'm happy with how the belt installation turned out. The rivets holding the plates in are legal here and are just to stop the plate spinning. Gasoline Alley said you have the option of plug welding, rivets or even sikaflex to hold them in place. The state transport department has a full set of specifications on seat belt installations including dimensions of reinforcing plates, hardware specs that was very helpful. The drop link from the roof places the belt in a more comfortable position and the belt is mostly out of the way of the door opening allowing easier access to the back seat.

And now we have the seatbelt saga..... To get the coupe registered it has to be inspected/modified for Australian compliance. This isn't that big a deal, you have to fit Aussie spec lap/sash inertia reel front belts, lap sash rear belts, child restraint points in the rear and Australian beam pattern headlights. I decided to go with inertia reels in the back as well, mainly so you don"t have belts lying around everywhere. I made the mistake of getting a so-called professional to do the belts and child restraints. The scary part is this fool was recommended by the local compliance engineer!! He had the car for 3 weeks and while the rear belts are ok, the fronts and child restraints are a joke. What do you think?? inertia reel just out in the middle of the floorpan and twisted in relation to roof mount Mounting bolts not in "safety", reinforcing plate not shaped to floorpan or rounded corners The existing hole just to the left is in a perfect position for a child restraint bolt, just needs a reinforcing plate I have to admit I didn't check the workmanship at the shop but a week after the car was home. To say I wasn't impressed was a gross understatement. I could and in fact now have done better myself. I did go back to see about getting the job done properly but got a heap of excuses etc and more importantly he didn't offer any of my money back or offer to fix it. I did check about legal options but that would cost almost as much as fixing it myself. I work at a military base with a lot of guys that get performance work done on cars, so the story of what he's done and the photos of his work standards have done the rounds there. I know of a few people who took their cars elsewhere after seeing what he did to my car.

They imported 200 66 coupes and did the conversion here using local Falcon and compact Fairlane parts.They were sold through Ford dealers but the conversion was carried out by outside suppliers. There was an article in Australian Muscle Car last year. We also got about 200 2001 Mustangs that were converted by Tickford, the local performance arm of Ford Australia. There's always been specialist importers that sold new Mustangs but they weren't factory endorsed. Thats where my Grandfathers Mach 1 came from.

I decided to sell the wheels that came with the coupe. Not sure what they are but look like Weld Prostars, but have Centreline stamped on them and are 15x7 all round. I have a set of 14x6 sports wheels off an 81 Falcon and will get me around until I can afford different wheels. I can't decide between 15x8 American Racing Ansen Sprints or 17x8 Torque Thrust style wheels. They are similar to styled sports wheels but with round holes. Just my luck, my neighbour tells me he has a set of the rusty chromed styled wheels for his 67 Falcon I could have had for nothing!!

The original seats had been replaced with Flofit buckets. I found them uncomfortable and didn't go back far enough. After trolling some Aussie Mustang forums I found 2003-2008 Falcon ute seats were a common fitment to classic Mustangs. I picked up a pair from an 03 XR8 for $80. They are very comfortable, flip forward, adjustable recline and lumbar support. Once the standard electric seat tracks are removed I made an adaptor to bolt stock Mustang seat tracks to the base. The adaptors are 1" thick wall tube and have been set up so I get about 2 inches of extra travel rearward. I've got a couple of inches headroom, if its not enough I'll make a new set of adaptors from 1/4 flat steel. Helping Dad with a comfort test. Miss Shannon 2 weeks old I'll be getting these retrimmed, a local trim shop suggested vinyl sides with leather for the seat faces. The rear seat will be trimmed to match with the pleats running horizontal to match the fronts

Thanks! I did look at the RHD conversion, its relatively simple using Aussie Falcon parts. I decided against it on cost (5-10K) and if I ever decide to sell it can still go home to the States if it doesn't sell here. Mustangs have always been popular here, my Grandfather had a 72 Mach1 and my uncle had a 66 convertible in the late 70's. There's been a big spike in interest lately due to the high Australian dollar relative to the greenback so importing a car is pretty cheap. The other reason is the rareness and very high value of Australian muscle coupes (Falcon, Charger, Monaro) these days. You are looking at 10-20K for something thats restorable and needs another 20-30K spent on it if you can find parts as most stuff isn't reproduced or isn't a good reproduction. Its why I gave up on my Falcon project and got a Mustang, almost everything is reproduced and readily available. I'm budgeting about 20-25K for the Mustang including purchase price.

I'm just north of Toowoomba so not too far from you. The Mother in law is at Morayfield we come down your area every month or so. I'd love to check out your Mach sometime! I bought the car from Danny Guntner at Coomera. It was a private sale, the car was on Gumtree for a couple of months before I bought it. He'd dropped the price by a couple of thousand in the add and I haggled another couple of thousand off that.

Unfortunately no, she doesn't have a twin,but she's very switched on and thats why I married her!! There was some wheeling and dealing involved though. I have to sell the XR8 and an XB Falcon coupe/convertible project car I have to finance the Mustang. I haven't modded the access holes. If I use a 1/4 drive socket with a universal joint I can tighten the seat bolts. The platforms are between 3/4 and 1" back from standard.

Thanks for the info. If the tray isn't shaped I might as well make it myself. Just use masonite and cover it with black vinyl. I was going to talk to our composites guy at work and see if he could repair the one I have.

I had to fit Australian spec headlights for registration so upgraded to halogen lights at the same time- 60w-55w outer and 55w inner. The RH headlight buckets had to be modded so the inserts would fit properly.. I will be fitting relays when I get to sorting out wiring. Big improvement!! Don't laugh but I do need good lights to avoid kangaroos on the way home from work. The last one I hit did 6k damage to my XR8.

Its a 20 feet car- looks good from 20 feet. There's filler in the fenders and quarters and a couple of rust bubbles forming but nothing thats a showstopper. The paint is ok but it will get a repaint down the track. The floorpans had rust- I've replaced them with half pans but looking back I should have gone full length. Too late now!! I've also fitted sports roof seat platforms which are lower and moved them back about an inch.

Hi All, I've been lurking on the forum for a year or so and decided it was time to start a build thread. I've always been a Mustang and Ford fan, owning many Aussie Fords over the years and this is my first Mustang. Unlike most people, the birth of my first child was the trigger for getting a Stang. I owned a 2002 Falcon XR8 ute (like a modern Ranchero) thats a great ride but didn't have enough seats for a family. After looking at getting a newish XR6 or XR8 sedan, as a joke I said to my wife "A Mustang has 4 seats, perfect for a family and won't depreciate like a new car". I couldn't believe it when my lovely lady took me seriously and the search was on!! I found a reasonable 69 coupe on the Gold Coast here in Queensland looked it over and made it mine Now the work begins. There were parts missing and some rust in the floors but all in all not a bad car and very restorable. It's currently fitted with 302 windsor C4 auto 9 inch 3.25 ratio rear power steering Manual drum brakes all round Long term plans are for a 5.0 roller engine, AOD, 3.5 LSD, front and possibly rear disc brakes, air con and maybe power windows. At the moment I'm just working on getting the floors done, Australian compliance work (seat belts, child restraints and headlights) and getting it registered and enjoying it as a daily drive.

I'll swap your weather- we've had 3 weeks of 40*C (110*F) here in Australia!!!!

My coupe has the lip also. Does anyone know whether a reproduction part is available? Mine has cutouts for speakers and holes drilled in it for seat belts/child restraints that are in the wrong spot.

Sorry for the thread hijack! I'm pretty good on the math but my wife will have troubles if she has to drive (80's child). Mustangs of Melbourne here in oz do a metric decal for a 68 but I'm not sure if it will fit. I have heard Dakota Digital are releasing the VHX series in metric but my wallet needs to fatten up a bit first!!! Thanks Guillaume, I will check it out

Hi, Do you know whether anyone reproduces the metric speedometer face?? I've never seen one before. It would be handy here in Australia as we are metric also. Beautiful car, it'll be stunning when its finished

I've got mine out of the car atm. there are 4 attachment points, rear bulkhead, a bracket on the wheel house top of door jam and on the inner quarter about 3 inches rear of the door opening ahead of the panel joint

My 69 coupe is fitted with a B&M Quicksilver shifter and I would like to go back to a stock shifter. I found this on Ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/390739573761?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_2381wt_791 It says it is for a 67-68 with console but will it work with a C4 in a 69? I will be building a custom console so I'm not bothered by the console mounts. I'm not worried about "concourse correct", just a shifter that will bolt in to the floor hole same as stock and work with the factory linkage. In time I will be upgrading to an AOD, and already have the Lokar linkage kit. I really don't like the look of the B&M shifter. Thanks Shaun

My original plan was to do the same as you've done but the coupe has a wider rear seat so there's nowhere to mount the inertia real without modding the seat base. The whole seat belt thing has been a sorry saga as I paid someone to supply and fit the belts/ child harness points to the engineering standard required and they made a mess of the it. I've had to redo almost all of it myself!!! I learnt a long time ago that if you want something done properly you have to do it yourself but I ignored it this time at my own expense.

Sounds like a vacuum leak. Check the carb gasket, all vacuum lines to distributor and brake booster etc